On Arizona players stepping up:
"The guy I want to talk about is Angelo Chol because there are a couple of games he didn't even get in. There's nobody in our program that works harder both in the season and out of the season than him. You always tell the guys that their opportunity will come. Whether it came this year, Angelo's best basketball is down the road as he learns and keeps growing. This was a tough matchup for Kaleb [Tarczewski] because they play primarily with guards and forwards. If Angelo wasn't able to have come in and perform, we would not have won tonight. I'm really proud of the guy. It was good to see him do what he did because when you talk about a whole team and the opportunity, it's not easy to come in and perform. I also want to credit Solomon [Hill]. When you have shots that usually go in and you're a high percentage shooter and all of a sudden it doesn't work for you, it's not easy to play very well in the second half. In the second half, he finished with 23 points and six rebounds. That's why he is, if not the conference player of the year, one of the best in the conference. The last guy I would recognize is Mark Lyons. Mark not only scored tonight, but he made his teammates better. His six assists were much closer to eight or nine. He ran the team and he led the team and really let the game come to him. In a game like tonight when certain players don't play as well, we are a true team. Come Sunday it could be a different story."

On ability to come up for the win after trailing majority of the game:
"Our defense was consistent throughout the game. They shot 38% from the field. They shot 18 free throws with a couple of them at the end were gifts. I don't know how they ended up at the line. They'd have a lot of fire if our defense wasn't consistent tonight. They have a number of great shooters that put a lot of pressure on defense. Our defense was good enough to win. It was just our offense having to catch up. If you look at our offense in the second half, we were 15-of-25 from the field, 60 percent. We finished the game with 11 turnovers. If we play with 12 or fewer turnovers, that is when we are the best team."

On the benefits of having extra days between upcoming game on Sunday:
"Number one, it gives us an opportunity to take tomorrow off and rest if that's what we so choose. I think that is what we will do. In February, less is more. It's so important that your players have energy and that the bumps and bruises can be addressed on a day that they don't have to run and do all the things you normally do. From that perspective, that's one thing. As well, our two days in between are here in Tucson. We don't have to travel, and we can have two great days of practice."

On last five minutes of the game:
"Solomon [Hill] took over the game in the last stretch like seniors do. He made big time plays and our defense was really clicking. Angelo [Chol] came in and made great plays scoring and rebounding the ball. Everybody was in a groove tonight, but our defense really won us the game tonight."

On offensive rhythm:
"My teammates got me in good position by setting great screens and my shot was clicking. I was facilitating, which was the biggest thing coach [Miller] told me I need to do. I took pride in that and tried to make great bounce passes."

On Chol's performance:
"I'm really one of the guys who cheers Angelo [Chol] on. We all do, but I have a lot of faith in him. I know that when he gets in the game he's going to produce, and tonight he was clicking also."

On 40th anniversary of McKale:
"It was nice to walk in the gym and see the colors. We had a great atmosphere, and we played some great basketball. The key thing is that we got the win."

On second half performance:
"I picked it up. I started off pretty terrible, but you have to put that behind you and keep pressing. They left me open for a couple shots and Kevin [Parrom] and Nick [Johnson] found me in a couple different spots. Your shot isn't always going to fall, but you have to stay with it and take open shots. At half time, Coach [Miller] told me to keep shooting. It was nothing to worry about, I just stuck with it."

On overall execution in second half:
"A couple of our guys got in foul trouble, so they had to watch a little bit. Some of the guys didn't play the same defense they did in the first half, and we executed by switching screens. We made them pay for it in certain situations. We stayed with it and executed and found open guys. Both teams played awful in the first half, but we stayed right there with them and kept turning the ball from them. We pushed the ball more in the second half."